Chapter 23
Haden
I’m furious. This asshole is going to prison. Does he have any idea how serious of a crime forgery is?
I’m exhausted and still stomping angry when the three of us finally get back to the mansion. I’m also grateful that the women are not around, undoubtedly sent upstairs by Ryder and Tiago who are waiting for us on the porch.
The five of us move to Ryder’s office without exchanging a word until the door closes behind us.
“I saw the patrol lights down there,” Tiago says. “I assume you called the sheriff.”
I nod, hands on my hips, pacing. “Yes.”
We’re all standing. The testosterone is thick in the air. I can see on all their faces that they’re furious. Good. Because motherfucker.
Ryder growls, “Emilia told us what happened before we sent them all upstairs.”
I continue pacing. I’m going to wear a hole in the rug. It’s probably a hundred years old. Too bad.
Dallas clears his throat. “The sheriff believed the license to be a fraud. He took Winters into custody. He’ll contact the authorities in Nevada and turn him over to them.”
Brody rubs his forehead. “I hate this. It could happen to any of us. Emilia isn’t a target because she’s a woman. The reverse could happen at any time. The world has just as many crazy, greedy women as men in it. All someone has to do is show up with some cockamamie tale and upset our lives.”
I look around at them, all of us with furrowed brows and firm expressions. After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, I say, “Thank you.”
Ryder frowns. “For what? We’re family. You don’t have to thank us. We’re a unit. We have each other’s backs. Always.”
Tiago nods. “He’s right.”
I draw in another deep breath. I need to be calmer when I go upstairs. I’m sure Emilia is freaking the fuck out, and I want her to see me as supportive and loving. Not the crazed lunatic I currently feel like inside.
I meet the gazes of the men who truly will be my legal family as soon as I marry Emilia. “I mean, thank you for not doubting her. I appreciate no one wondering out loud if it’s possible. She told me it is not; I believe her.”
Brody smirks. “Emilia? Drunk? Not a chance. She doesn’t even like drinking. There’s no way she would let a stranger get her sloshed and end up married.”
Dallas nods. “He’s right. Besides,” he smirks, “she’s only had eyes for you for four years.
Not a chance in hell she would have glanced at another man long enough to have been able to so much as describe him.
Flirting? Never. If it comes down to it, we can always contact her friends to confirm the events.
If a lawyer or judge needs witnesses. But I doubt it will happen.
It won’t take much research to verify the license is a fraud. ”
I turn to Brody and give him a man hug. “I should go upstairs.”
“We all should,” he agrees. “I’m sure the women are anxious.”
We exit the room, wasting no time taking the steps at the front of the mansion. Seconds later, I enter the room I’ve been sharing with my girl before closing and locking the door behind me.
As I expected, Emilia is pacing. She’s no longer wearing the dress. Now she has one of my T-shirts on. That fact calms me. I secretly love finding her in my clothes. It’s sexy.
She rushes over and wraps her arms around me.
I lift her off the floor and hold her close against me, kissing her neck. “It’s okay, baby.”
“Is he gone?”
“Yes. The sheriff picked him up. He’ll spend the night in jail. In the morning, Sheriff Johnston will contact the authorities in Nevada.”
“Thank you for believing me.”
I carry her to the bed and set her on the edge before grabbing a chair and dropping onto my ass in front of her. “Emilia, listen to me, baby.”
She nods, biting her bottom lip.
“You’re mine.”
She sniffles, nodding again.
“Let me tell you my thought process, okay?”
“Yes, Sir,” she murmurs.
“First of all, I knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell you were married and simply hadn’t told me. That meant either you didn’t know you were married or he was lying. Neither of those possibilities would be your fault, so I didn’t for one moment blame you.”
“But—”
I hold up a hand. “Jitterbug, I was suspicious from the moment that man opened his mouth. He kept arguing that you’d been drunk.
I’ve never seen you drink, and Brody and Dallas haven’t either.
Could you have gotten drunk one night in Vegas?
Of course. Millions of people who don’t drink have been inebriated at one time or another, half of them in Vegas,” I say, keeping my tone light.
“Haden…”
I shake my head. “I asked you if you’d been drunk. You told me no. That’s the end of it. I trust you. You would never lie to me or your brothers.”
“I would not. Were you mad at me, though? At least for a minute?”
“Nope. Worst-case scenario was always that you’d gone to Vegas, gotten wasted with friends, and ended up married without a clue.
You wouldn’t have been the first. It would have presented a bit of a problem.
We would have needed to get it annulled and therefore couldn’t get married in a week.
But I would have done whatever was necessary to fix this because you’re going to be my wife. No one else’s.”
She throws her arms around my neck and hauls me off the chair. “I love you, Haden.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
She leans back. “I don’t want to get married next week,” she blurts out.
My brows shoot to the ceiling. Is she so upset about what happened that she has cold feet?
“Let’s do it tomorrow. I don’t need a ceremony. I just want to be yours.”
A relieved breath huffs from my lungs. She fucking scared me for a moment. I finally grin. “You just want to have sex.”
She shrugs. “That might be part of it.”
“Good enough for me. If you want to get married tomorrow, we’ll get married tomorrow.”
She tugs my neck harder, pulling me closer as she scoots back on the mattress. “Really?”
“Yes, baby.” Is she kidding? All I want is for her to be my wife. The sooner the better.
She grins. “I might have an ulterior motive, just so you know.” Her voice is sly and teasing. Whatever she says is going to be silly.
“Yeah? What’s that, jitterbug?”
“Since I just finished my period, I’ll get to spend one week fucking my man in every position imaginable before I get pregnant.”
I chuckle. “Seems like a bizarre reason to get married, but I’m not going to argue with you.” I lower her onto her back and extricate myself from her grip to rise onto my knees and remove my shirt. “I’ll warn you, though…”
She giggles. “What’s that?”
“Every single time we have sex, including the first time, I will do so with the intent of getting you knocked up. That means my come stays inside you. It means we don’t waste it. It means you’ll wear a plug in your cunt to make sure it doesn’t leak out.”
I love the flush on her cheeks and the way her body shudders at my suggestion. She’s so fucking adorable, and she gets cuter when I talk dirty to her.
I grab the hem of my T-shirt—the one she’s wearing—and pull it over her head. Turns out she’s naked underneath, and I lean back to look at her fucking hot body.
Straddling her thighs, I stare down at my woman. “Arms above your head, baby,” I order in a voice that has deepened significantly.
She whimpers as she obeys me.
I trail a finger between her breasts before circling one with the barest of touches.
Her shallow breathing tells me she’s turned on.
“I’m not going to let you come tonight, Emilia.”
Her breath hitches. “Haden…”
“Nope. You’ll wait until we’re married before you have another orgasm.” I tap one of her nipples.
She gasps and tries to arch her chest.
“Tomorrow, after your signature is on a legally binding marriage certificate, I will make you fully mine. I will push my cock so deep inside you that you won’t know where you end and I begin. It won’t matter. We’ll be one person. One being hellbent on creating another life.”
She licks her lips. “Yes, Sir.”
“You want that, don’t you, baby? You want my come deep inside you. You want me to keep my cock buried as far as it will reach so I can get you pregnant. You want me to use a plug to make sure none of my come leaks out.”
“Yes, Sir,” she breathes. “I never expected to meet someone who wanted babies as much as I do.”
I smile. “A dozen of them. As many as we can make.”
Her smile is broader. “Are you going to freak out every time I go into labor? You nearly fainted in the doctor’s office discussing my period.”
“Probably.” I smirk. “Because I love you to pieces, and I don’t like it when you’re hurting. I hate how sick you got just from your period. Hopefully, I won’t ever see that again.”
She giggles. “I’ll still have my period once a month until I’m about fifty, Haden.”
I shake my head. “Not if I keep you pregnant.” I’m only half-teasing. I can’t wait for her to waddle around carrying my child, but if she’s sick the entire nine months or her births are too difficult, I’ll probably change my mind. Seeing her in pain drives me crazy.
I slide down her body and off the bed. “Climb under the covers, baby. We have a long day tomorrow.”
She scrambles to do as she’s told.
My heart is full.